Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.96, but opened at $26.26. Viking Therapeutics shares last traded at $25.49, with a volume of 1,687,139 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VKTX. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Maxim Group lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 7.6 %

The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -26.00 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.60.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.